METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MONITORING AND CORRELATING VISIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION

• US 3,841,763 A
• Filed: 06/25/1973
• Issued: 10/15/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/1973
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Robert E. Lewis
• Original Assignee: Robert E. Lewis
• Inventors: Lewis, Robert E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wibert, Ronald L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Clark, Conrad
• Application Number:
  US05/373,026
• Time in Patent Office: 477 Days
• Field of Search: 356/207,208,229,186,191,201,219
• US Class Current: 356/438
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0027 concerning the detector
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 15/00 Special procedures for taking photographs; Apparatus therefor

Abstract

Photographic photometry apparatus and method for pictorial recording of scene brightness and apparatus for reproducing said recordings for evaluation and correlation of the scene brightness. The apparatus and method provides for continuously, automatically monitoring a pollutant source and recording pictorial data of visible environmental contamination. The method and apparatus provide for a permanent pictorial recording of the environmental contamination which further allows for a permanent on-the-spot continuous relative comparison and rating of the degree of contaminants relative to pre-established standards.

Claims

1. Photographic photometry apparatus for pictorial recording of scene brightness comprising, in combination:

a photographic camera means adapted to photograph a scene simultaneously with photographing a light opacity reference means, and recording said photograph on a recording medium;

an enclosed light-shield box supported about the lens opening of the camera means, said box providing a substantially nonreflective interior enclosure and supporting a scene light filter assembly about the front of the lens opening and intersecting the field of view of the camera means, said scene light filter assembly including a neutral density light filter in line with the camera means optics and adapted to be aligned with a subject to be recorded;

a light reflection plate means positioned about the exterior of the light-shield box adjacent to said light filter assembly, the light reflection means being positioned with the surface of the light reflection means intersecting a portion of the field of view of the camera means and in facing alignment with an illuminance source to diffusely reflect illuminance rays from the source to within the enclosed light-shield box; and

a light opacity reference means of a plurality of neutral density mediums of varying degrees of light absorption, the light opacity reference means being positioned to intersect the field of view of the camera means and in alignment with the illuminance rays of the illuminance source reflected to the camera means optics through the enclosed light-shield box.

2. The photographic photometry apparatus of claim 1 wherein the light opacity reference means includes a plurality of individual reference neutral density optical transmission filters of varying degrees of absorption positioned about a peripheral edge of the scene neutral density light filter, the plane of said reference filters intersecting the field of view of the camera means and the path of reflected rays of the reflection plate directed to the camera means optics;

and the light reflection plate means includes a diffusely reflecting white surfaced medium positioned at an acute angle relative to said plurality of reference filters to intersect the field of view of the camera through said plurality of reference filters.

3. The photographic photometry apparatus of claim 2 wherein the plurality of light reference filters include individual filters of shades of grey corresponding to Ringelmann Smoke Chart standards.

4. The photographic photometry apparatus of claim 3 wherein the light opacity reference medium further includes a plurality of color density filters positioned to intersect the field of view of the camera means and the path of reflected rays of the reflection plate means directed to the camera means optics.

5. The photographic photometry apparatus of claim 2 wherein The photographic camera means is in the form of a motion camera having a clock-time control network for controlling the clock-time increments at which the camera successively pictorially records the pictorial scene and light opacity reference means within the field of view.

6. The photographic photometry apparatus of claim 5 wherein the photographic camera medium further includes a time-of-day timer for continuously monitoring the time of day;

and means for photographically imprinting within the pictorial records, the time-of-day at which each pictorial record of the scene is recorded.

7. The photographic photometry apparatus of claim 6 wherein the photographic camera means is in the form of a super 8-mm, cartridge-loading motion camera.

8. The photographic photometry apparatus of claim 4 wherein the photographic camera means is in the form of a motion camera having a clock-time control network for controlling the clock-time increments at which the camera successively pictorially records the pictorial scene intersecting the field of view;

and the plurality reference filters are lOcated about the top peripheral edge of the light filter assembly, each of said reference filters having distinct visible peripheral lines such that the pictorial recordings of each of said individual reference filters reproduce recordings of said lines.

9. The photographic photometry apparatus of claim 2 wherein the reference filters of the opacity reference means are positioned in a common vertical plane in tandem lateral alignment across the top peripheral edge of said scene light filter assembly;

the light reflection plate means is positioned with the edge extending laterally across the opacity reference means adjacent to the top peripheral edge of said scene light filter assembly, and wherein the enclosed light-shield box has a tapered truncated planar surface within a plane extending at an acute angle relative to said vertical plane of the reference filters, said truncated surface extending from adjacent the top peripheral edge of said reference filters.

10. Photographic photometry system apparatus for successive, incremental pictorial recording of a scene brightness and reproduction of the pictorial recordings for evaluation and correlation of the scene brightness, said system comprising in combination:

a photographic camera means adapted to photograph a scene simultaneously with photographing a light opacity reference means;

an enclosed light-shield box supported about the lens opening of the camera means, said box providing a substantially non-reflective interior enclosure and supporting a scene light filter assembly about the front of the lens opening and intersecting the field of view of the camera means, said scene light filter assembly including a neutral density light filter in line with the camera means optics and adapted to be aligned with a subject to be recorded;

a light reflection plate means positioned about the exterior of the light-shield box adjacent to said light filter assembly, the light reflection means being positioned with the surface of the light reflection means intersecting a portion of the field of view of the camera means and in facing alignment with an illuminance source to diffusely reflect illuminance rays from the source to within the enclosed light-shield box; and

a light opacity reference means of a plurality of neutral density mediums of varying degrees of light absorption, the light opacity reference means being positioned to intersect the field of view of the camera means and in alignment with the illuminance rays of the illuminance source reflected to the camera means optics through the enclosed light-shield box;

data reduction means for receiving said recording medium and reproducing visible reproductions of the scene and light opacity reference means as recorded on said recording medium by said photographic camera means;

a photocell means for reading the degree of brightness level of the visible reproductions, said photocell means being movable about the surface of the visible reproductions, the photocell means further providing relative illuminance readings as the photocell is moved to various locations of the reproduced pictorial recordings.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the light opacity reference means includes a plurality of individual reference neutral density optical transmission filters of varying degree of absorption positioned about a peripheral edge of the scene neutral density light filter, the plane of said reference filters intersecting the field of view of the camera means and the path of reflected rays of the reflection plate directed to the camera means optics;

the light reflection plate means includes a diffusely reflecting white surfaced medium positioned at an acute angle relative to said plurality of reference filters to intersect the field of view of the camera through said plurality of reference filters; and

the photocell means being movable about the surface of the visible reproductions of recorded scene and light opacity reference means, said photocell means providing relative illuminance readings as the photocell is moved to various locations of the reproduced pictorial recordings of the scene and light opacity reference means.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the photographic camera means is in the form of a motion camera having a clock-time control network for controlling the clock-time increments at which the camera successively pictorially records the pictorial scene and light opacity reference means within the field of view;

the data reduction means further includes a moving projector for successively reproducing visible reproductions of frames of recorded data, a speed control network for controlling the speed at which successive frames of recorded data are reproduced, the speed rate of said control network being independent of the rate at which the frames were recorded.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the data reduction means includes a rear screen projection box including an enclosure positioned about the moving projector, a directional reflector within said box positioned at an angle intersecting the axis of the projector beam and reflecting the projected beam onto the back-side planar surface of a screen supported by said enclosure, said photocell means being movable about the front-side planar surface of the screen to detect illuminance readings of the reproduced pictorial recordings of the scene and light opacity reference means.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said enclosure further includes a reference ledge about the front-side surface of the screen for supporting measurement instruments for measuring the dimensional characteristics of the reproduced scenes.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the photographic camera include zoom lens for recording close-up views of the subject of the scene at select increments.

16. Method for monitoring and rating pollution emissions from a pollutant source, the method comprising the steps of positioning a camera means in alignment with a subject pollutant source with the subject pollutant source within the field of view of the camera;

positioning a light opacity reference medium within the field of view of the camera;

directing illuminance light rays originating from outside the field of view of the camera against the opacity reference medium and directing said rays to the camera optics;

simultaneously recording on a recording medium pictorial views of the subject pollutant source and the opacity reference medium;

reproducing on a common medium the recorded pictorial views of the subject source and opacity reference medium;

reading the relative brightness levels of the reproduced views of the subject source and opacity reference medium.

17. The method of claim 16 including the step of recording successive pictorial views of the subject pollutant source and the opacity reference medium at select time increments;

and then successively reproducing on said common medium the pictorial views of the subject source and light opacity reference medium.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the light opacity reference medium includes a plurality of neutral density mediums of varying degrees of light absorption corresponding to Ringelmann Smoke Chart standards.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein a constant reference light source is provided adjacent to the neutral density mediums to correct for induced bias resulting from darkened environmental light conditions.